The mayor, who was questioned on Friday at the National Investigation Bureau, told journalists that he is suspected of falling foul of the law on the right of assembly by organising an event that was banned by the police and encouraging people to take part in it.

He called the police questioning "risible" since the metropolitan council did not have any rules on the right to assembly, therefore any such notion of abusing rules was out of the question.

Karacsony insisted that the proceedings were unfounded, adding that he would file a complaint.

Karacsony: Prosecutor's office rejects complaint against charges

The prosecutor's office on Thursday rejected Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony's complaint against charges brought against him over the municipality organising the Budapest Pride, the mayor said.

"The prosecutor's office ... seems to think that there is suspicion of a crime because we stood up for diversity, equality and love," Karacsony said in a statement.

"We will, of course, fight on, because freedom and love cannot be banned or punished. Budapest is, and will remain, a free city," he said.

The police questioned Karacsony on August 1 in connection with the organisation of the Budapest Pride on June 28. Afterwards, Karacsony said he had been charged with "abusing the right to assembly" for organising an event the police had banned earlier, and for encouraging people to participate.

Karacsony said at the time that he thought the procedure lacked legal foundations.

 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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